In an increasingly accessible and networked communication environment, exchange of information through text messages, email, postings, and other forms is easier. The ease of information exchange brings with it potential disadvantages and risks. Non-electronic forms of communication (e.g., letters, etc.) are more time-consuming, but at the same time enable the author to think about the message. Electronic communication, on the other hand, is faster. This means messages may be sent “in the heat of the moment”, and the author may not be able to take back a sent/posted message even if they subsequently regret sending/posting the message.
In addition, when people interact with each other in real life, they typically filter what they say or do because they are receiving an active feedback from the other person through visual cue, body language, etc. However, online interactions in a virtual world (such as on a social network) do not have a real-time-feedback or filtering mechanism. Furthermore, in real world, by sheer physical limitation, a person may only be able to interact with a limited number of people at one time. In the virtual world, there is no limitation technically and the posted information may be online for an indefinite period of time.